South came away with a win against local rivals Nomads, thus completing the "double" after the 4-1 win just a few weeks ago. An absorbing first half came to life after only a few minutes when South's early front-foot hockey produced the opening goal - a delicious reverse-stick sweep by Russell. Any hope that this might presage an easy game was quickly extinguished as Nomads gathered themselves and imposed themselves with some slick passing, which quickly told as Nomads took a 2-1 lead mid-way through the half.

South realised they had a game on their hands, and needed to step up. McCree & [M.] Grove puting in some crunching tackles at the back to repel further advances, and in midfield Kohara made good inroads down the right with his slick stick skills. With [T.] Grove proving a handful and an excellent outlet on the left we realised there were goals to be had here, and it didn't take long for Russell to grab his second of the game to tie up the match.

And the scoring didn't stop there. Barton grabbing two for himself, the first after your correspondent found themselves taking the ball into the D, where a quick turn and cross-cum-shot was turned in, just, from a reverse deflection. The second was the culmination of a great passing move across then up the left leading to a simple tap-in at the back post.

After such a whirl-wind first half the second was a much more measured affair. South edged the possession and were never under real pressure but failed to add to their advantage - despite what felt like a dozen short-corners in a row. The highlight of the lot being the one where Monck followed up his trademark thwack with a reverse stick (!!) hit that was flying well over the bar before Garrett deflected it back to Earth and Russell did his best to dig the ball through the opposition keeper, various opposition sticks and a few feet! But to no avail.

That's not to say Nomads didn't have their chances, and some smart work by Dant in goal ensured they remained frustrated. With Jay-Jay barking orders to the team the midfield remained solid - Jelley & Brynjolffssen patrolling the middle and putting in biting challenges. Swapping the back-line for right-wing in second half South (as in Paul, not Cambridge) provided a challenge for the Nomads defence as he helped carve through their left-back (not literally).

All in all a good game - two fairly balanced sides fighting hard, but in good spirit. And of course nice to get the win.